Ken Lucas

Kentucky’s Veterans Affairs Commissioner is stepping down to oversee the construction of the state’s new long-term care facility for veterans in Hardin County.

Governor Steve Beshear announced Friday that Ken Lucas is leaving the post, and being replaced by Heather French Henry.

Lucas is a former U.S. Congressman from Kentucky’s Fourth House District and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. Beshear appointed him head of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009.

He’ll now oversee the construction of what will be the state’s fourth veterans nursing home. The Radcliff Veterans Center is scheduled to open in September of 2015, and will provide 120 beds to veterans in the Hardin County region. Featuring a dozen ten-person homes, the facility will sit on 195 acres of land donated by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Taking over as head of the Veterans Affairs Department on July 1 will be Heather French Henry. She began the Heather French Foundation for Veterans in 1999, shortly after she was crowned Miss America.